In a Sign of Things to Come the NBA Players' Union Will Challenge More Technical Fouls and Fines
The NBA has decided to push its officials to issue more technical fouls with corresponding fines against its players. For its part, the NBA Player’s Union has decided to push back.
Billy Hunter, the Executive Director of the Union stated that the players will “file an appropriate legal challenge” to the league’s decision. For the moment that means a formal labor grievance for acts the Union now describes as “unnecessary” and an “unwarranted overreaction.”
So why is the Union ready to institute a legal fight on technical fouls? The answer is because these fouls are getting expensive for the players to pay and acting as a new revenue stream for the owners. According to NBA rules a technical foul fine starts at $2000 for the first five infractions and then moves up to $5000 per incident. If you think this a “pittance” for rich basketball players to pay, you may be right, but when you look at how many technical fouls are called around the league (including preseason), each night, the numbers can quickly add up.
The NBA and NFL, for that matter, are both looking at the real potential for lockout in upcoming seasons. In their labor negotiations, the NFL and NBA are seeking that their players to give back part of the shared revenue due to the “down economy” and new stadium costs. As of now the players in both leagues have been resistant to major give backs and seem to want more of shared revenue dollars. The owners can then use technical foul or unsportsmanlike conduct fines to even the score and act as a “tax” against their employees.
The players’ unions, in the NBA and NFL, should get ready to fight this maneuver if it means getting overly legally physical.
My name is Christopher Fusco. I am the managing partner of Callahan & Fusco, LLC with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.